Life after graduation can be difficult to navigate.
Men and women in their 20s might face a quarterlife crisis. Twentysomethings often feel anxiety as they're becoming adults. The transition to adulthood can be difficult, and common issues include repaying debt after graduation, trying out different careers and ultimately finding a path in life. As people in this age bracket reflect on their high school and college years, they also must move forward and carve out a new life for themselves post-school.
Emotions
When you're going through a quarterlife crisis, you'll experience new emotions to sort through. After graduating college and saying "good-bye" to your friends as you all go your separate ways, you could feel like you're stuck in a rut as you search for a new social circle and a job. As you watch laughing college students in sweatpants head to class, you might feel old for the first time in your life. Also, you could feel like you're out of the loop when it comes to what the younger generation is listening to and wearing. If you don't immediately love the first job or career path you choose, you can quickly lose passion and motivation. You might feel pressure to get your life in order as quickly as possible, including choosing a lifetime career and starting a family. These emotions can run deep and turn into larger problems, such as depression or hopelessness.
Choices
One main problem during the quarterlife crisis stage is not lack of options but instead an overabundance of them. There are plenty of opportunities and sometimes the array of decisions can be overwhelming. From whether or not to continue your education, what to study and what career paths to explore, there are sometimes too many choices and it can be difficult to narrow them down.
Milestones
One major problem of quarterlife crisis is that after graduating college, there really aren't any milestones to mark a transition or celebrate what you've accomplished. You might be moving into your first apartment and landing your first full-time job, but there aren't any parties to celebrate this. If you're between relationships or haven't found "the one" yet, an engagement celebration and wedding reception are a long way off.
Economic Conditions
Navigating through your 20s can be even more difficult if the economy isn't in the best state. A major source of pressure could be the knowledge that you're not becoming more successful than your parents. Also, in an economy with dwindling jobs and high unemployment, a college education doesn't go as far as it can, leaving graduates with hefty student loans and limited job prospects.
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